


i can breathe now; i'm alive

by gravitropism



Series: Grad Students!AU [7]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Grad Students!AU, M/M, i promise yixing is in this universe he just doesn't show up here, mentions of an eating disorder, stressed out joonmyun, tho nobody actually has one so you're good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 11:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10639305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravitropism/pseuds/gravitropism
Summary: Jongdae worries about Junmyeon. He really does. Grad Students!AU





	

**Author's Note:**

> h i f r e n d this is a part of a series, you could probably read it on its own but you'll understand more things if you read all of it. Title from Oxygen by Fred V. & Grafix.

Jongdae looks down at his phone. It’s another text from Junmyeon, probably bored out of his mind at whatever conference he’s currently attending. In the beginning, he tried to keep up with all of Junmyeon’s activities, but now he just has a copy of his general schedule and makes do with that.

Hell, Jongdae isn’t even sure why Junmyeon bothers to go to all of these conferences and events if he’s just going to end up being bored. He guesses that it’s resume padding, but with all he does, Junmyeon really doesn’t need any more than that.

He opens the message.

_The speaker just informed us that his powerpoint was lost and he’s going to have trouble presenting._

Jongdae snorts, and types his reply.

_kind of ironic, seeing as his presentation is on mindfulness?_

He receives an almost instantaneous reply. Junmyeon must really be bored.

_I should have gone to a different presentation instead... I could be grading papers right now._

_lol tell me about it, he types back._

Jongdae lets his phone fall to his chest. He’s lying on Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s couch in their apartment, with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun on the other couch at Chanyeol in his usual spot on the floor. He says it’s good for his back to lie on the floor, but Jongdae isn’t really sure how valid that claim is. He’ll have to google it later; he’s too lazy now. It’s a Saturday afternoon, anyway.

Someone knocks on the door, bringing Jongdae out of his thoughts, and the other three pause in their conversation.

“That’ll be Jongin,” Baekhyun says, and leaps off the couch to answer it. He opens the door to a bashfully smiling Jongin.

“I wasn’t sure if it was open or not,” he mumbles, stepping in and kissing Baekhyun.

“Not in front of the kids!” Chanyeol screeches.

Kyungsoo turns slowly to face Chanyeol. “If that was a short joke, Park, I swear I’m going to kill you.”

Jongdae just laughs. “Come on, don’t rub your relationship in my single face,” he says, finally sitting up. Stretching, he pops his back and runs a hand through his hair to get it to lie flat on his head. “Seriously, though, how am I the only single one here?”

Baekhyun has by now pulled Jongin to sit with him and Kyungsoo. “Don’t you have Junmyeon as a prospect, though?” he says, poking Jongin in the stomach.

As he watches Jongin laugh, Jongdae replies, “I do, but I’ve told you guys before, he’s too busy to date anyone.”

Kyungsoo leans forward, eyes narrowed. “But does he like you?”

Jongdae sighs, and rubs his eyes. “I’m pretty sure he does, yes. Whenever we actually manage to meet up he’s always cute and blushy. We text constantly, and I think I’m the only one he does that with.”

“Constantly?” Chanyeol asks, rolling over onto his side. His back is going to be even worse if he keeps that up. “I thought he was too much of a goody-two-shoes for that,” he comments, shrugging slightly.

Jongdae snickers. “Surprisingly, no. He’s at some conference right now, and he’s texting me during one of the presentations.”

“That’s a bit of a shock, actually. Why did he decide to go to a conference on a Saturday if he isn’t going to pay attention?” Kyungsoo asks, punching Baekhyun for groping him yet again. Sometimes Jongdae wonders about that, but he decides to turn a blind eye.

“Some big name was going to be there, and apparently that presentation was good, but now he has to sit through more little ones,” Jongdae explains. Junmyeon had been quite excited about seeing this woman. Jongdae wasn’t sure what she did, only that it was something having to do with journalism.

“Sucks,” Baekhyun laughs, throwing his feet over Jongin’s lap. Jongin just pinches his thigh. Baekhyun’s touchiness must be affecting him.

“Yeah, well,” Jongdae says, “He likes it, so I won’t try and stop him.” His phone buzzes, and he looks down.

_The presenter had some interesting ideas, but they were half-baked and needed more work. I could have done a better job._

Jongdae chuckles. He has no doubt that Junmyeon can.

_you should have taken over!_

_That’s not actually a bad idea. Maybe next time I will. Anyway, I need to drive home now, so talk to you tomorrow?_

Jongdae grunts quietly. It would be nice to talk in person, instead.

_sure!_

\--

A week later, Jongdae is walking through the library, earbuds in, looking for a good spot to study. The stacks in the basement tend to be chilly, but he gets hot more often than he does cold, and it’s quiet down here, which is the important part.

He is turning the corner when he sees a familiar bright red backpack. Yep, that’s Junmyeon’s haircut, and that’s Junmyeon furiously annotating some book.

Jongdae tugs a headphone out. “Junmyeon?” he says, walking up behind him.

Junmyeon looks up, a wrinkle between his eyebrows. “Oh, Jongdae. Hi, I didn’t know you came down here.”

Jongdae shakes his head. “I’m not here often, but sometimes Baekhyun and Chanyeol get a little noisy, and I need a break.” He spins his earbud around his finger, noticing the stacks of books on Junmyeon’s desk. “How long have you been here?”

Junmyeon has to think for a moment, then replies, “I woke up at eight and came straight here?”

Jongdae narrows his eyes. “Have you eaten lunch?” It’s two p.m.

“No?” Junmyeon says sheepishly. “I have a lot to do, and some free time, so I thought I’d just plow through and get it done?”

Jongdae wants to scream, just a little bit. He walks over to Junmyeon’s desk, grabs a slip of paper, stuffs it in his book, and shuts it. “You’re taking a break and getting lunch with me. This isn’t healthy, you know. I bet you didn’t eat breakfast either.” He can tell by the guilty look on Junmyeon’s face that this is true.

“But what about my books?” Junmyeon says, looking around at the mess on the desk. “I need these; I can’t just leave them here.”

Jongdae sighs, grabs another scrap of paper, and scribbles on it, ‘AWAY FOR LUNCH. WILL BE BACK AT 3:30.’ He sets it on the desk and pulls Junmyeon up. “Nobody ever goes down here, you’ll be fine.”

Junmyeon reluctantly packs up his stuff, and Jongdae drags him outside. They blink in the bright sunshine, and Junmyeon’s stomach rumbles.

“I told you,” Jongdae snorts. “What do you want to eat?”

Junmyeon is rubbing his sweater-clad stomach. “Um. I don’t really care?”

“Alright, well, I haven’t gotten Greek food in a while, so let’s do that?”

Junmyeon nods, still looking shocked to be outside instead of down in his basement study cave. Jongdae just sighs to himself and urges him into the restaurant, politely asking the hostess for a table for two. They’re seated right away, because it’s past normal lunchtime, and Jongdae scans the menu.

“You know, I don’t mean to skip meals,” Junmyeon murmurs, looking over the menu as well. “It just kind of happens.” Junmyeon’s bones are obvious under his pale skin. Jongdae worries about him.

“Do you get hungry?” Jongdae asks, curious. Their waiter shows up, and they order.

Junmyeon seems vaguely annoyed at the question. “I do, Jongdae, it’s not like I’m restricting myself on purpose.”

“Sorry,” Jongdae quickly backpedals, “I’m not trying to imply anything. I’m just saying, I’m constantly hungry, so if I can help it, I never skip eating. And I eat a lot, so the concept of not doing that is a little eye-opening, I guess?”

Junmyeon drops his head into his hands, and rubs at his eyes. “I didn’t think you were, I’m. I’m fine, is all.”

“Isn’t it better for your brain if you eat on the regular, though?” Jongdae asks carefully. “Like eating breakfast, wouldn’t that wake you up a little bit?”

Junmyeon looks up. “I think I’ve heard that, yeah. I just didn’t want to waste time.”

“Taking care of yourself isn’t wasting time. It’s an investment,” Jongdae remarks, “Spend a little time in the morning, and you’ll have more energy to work in the future.”

“When you put it like that, I sound like an idiot,” Junmyeon says, drawing on the laminate surface of the table with condensation from his water glass. His eyes are downcast.

Jongdae sighs. “I’m not trying to preach. I just care about you, and I want you to care about your health to the same extent.”

Junmyeon looks up at him. “I understand. I’m just so busy.”

Jongdae smiles. “Maybe that’s the real problem here.”

And then their food comes, and Jongdae moves their topic of conversation to something a little more lighthearted, like Junmyeon’s coworkers at the school newspaper. Not all of them are sane, and Jongdae is glad that Junmyeon gets enjoyment out of laughing at them.

\--

Wednesday evening Jongdae texts Junmyeon to see if he wants to come watch the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race (it’s second All Stars season, and Jongdae has never loved Alyssa Edwards more). But Junmyeon is busy, as per usual. Sometimes Jongdae thinks he would be better off scheduling their meetings a month in advance just so he could get onto Junmyeon’s calendar.

_what do you have this time :(((_

Junmyeon texts him back promptly.

_I need to do some reading before a tutoring session at 8pm, sorry :(((_

Jongdae sighs and texts his reply.

_its fine ;; just try and make the next one? cuz i’m you’re fav?? ;)_

Kyungsoo, hearing his sigh, comes and sits on their sofa next to him. “What’s up?” he asks, passing Jongdae a bowl of pasta with chicken.

Jongdae moans in delight and starts eating. “I’m going to gain weight because carbs, but this is delicious,” he says, mouth full, “Also Junmyeon can’t come and watch Drag Race with us because he’s a loser and has to tutor.”

Kyungsoo rubs his shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sorry. Maybe he’ll be able to come next week?”

“It’s a long shot, honestly,” Jongdae says, wiping a bit of sauce off his lower lip. Don’t let it worry you too much. I’ll get him to come around eventually.”

Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo replies, “Just let me be a caring roommate, okay? Want to break out the wine?”

Jongdae hesitates. “Only a few glasses, okay? Don’t try to drown my sorrows.”

Kyungsoo gets up, grinning. “Gotcha.” He walks off, and Jongdae sighs into his pasta bowl. Yeah. He’ll catch Junmyeon’s attention eventually.

\--

On Friday Jongdae is teaching his discussion section when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. He ignores it, like he usually does, and continues teaching. Only when the class finally lets out at 4 pm does he take it out and check the message. To his surprise, it’s Junmyeon, inviting him to spend time together.

_One of my favorite students is doing poetry slam tonight. Want to come?_

Jongdae blinks. He’s never been to that kind of thing before, but if Junmyeon was inviting him, he’d go to anything. Literally anything. Junmyeon could be going to the moon and Jongdae would still find a way to smuggle himself into his suitcase, because Junmyeon was seriously always busy.

 _i’ll totally come, what time and where?_ , he messages back. He collects his belongings, and waves goodbye to the students remaining in the classroom. Exiting, he checks the rest of his notifications while walking down the hallway. Baekhyun has sent him a link to a bunch of corgi butts, which he promptly bookmarks, and there’s a message from Kyungsoo about picking up a bag of spinach on his way home. Jongdae takes a moment to thank fortune for giving him a roommate who can cook while only expecting him to do the dishes afterwards.

After grabbing the spinach for Kyungsoo, he heads straight home. There’s no point in hanging around in his office when he could be doing his readings in the comfort of his apartment.

Jongdae unlocks the door to suspicious noises coming from the back of the apartment. Fantastic, Jongdae thinks, only a little bitter, walking quietly into the kitchen. Way to rub it in Jongdae’s face that he’s still single. He puts the spinach in the fridge, leaving a post it about it on the fridge door, and then stuffs his headphones in and cranks the music way up on his phone. There.

Luckily Kyungsoo’s bedroom door is shut, and Jongdae breathes a sigh of relief as he walks past and into his room. He plops down on his desk chair, cracks open his laptop, and gets to work. No sense in wasting time.

An hour later he receives a text from Kyungsoo.

_I got the spinach but where are you?_

Jongdae snorts, removes his headphones, gets up, and opens the door. “I’m here, dumbass.”

Kyungsoo pokes his head around the corner. “Oh. I didn’t know you were home,” he says, having the decency to turn a little red. “Uh. I’m starting dinner?”

“Alright. You want me to help? I’m leaving around 8:30, by the way.”

“I guess? I mean, you might as well come out here?” Jongdae shrugs in reply and makes his way into the kitchen, where Minseok is already chopping something. When he enters, Kyungsoo runs a hand through his already messy hair. “Sorry about the noise earlier. When did you get back?”

“About an hour ago, I think,” Jongdae says, leaning against the counter. “I put in my headphones and got some work done, don’t worry about it.”

Minseok chuckles. “Good, because we got a little loud towards the end. Sorry.”

Jongdae lifts an eyebrow in Kyungsoo’s direction. “My music was up pretty high, thankfully.”

Kyungsoo clears his throat. “Yes. Well. Enough about that, where are you going tonight?”

“Junmyeon invited me to some poetry slam thing that one of his students is in, and since we don’t get to hang out much, I said I’d come. I’ve never been to one before, have you?” Jongdae asks, sneaking a bit of the bell pepper that Minseok was cutting up.

Kyungsoo flicks him on the forehead for it. “No, I have not. Does Junmyeon go to that sort of thing often?”

“Not that I know of,” Jongdae says, shrugging, “I’m just glad he wants to go with me. I feel like I’m in a constant battle of trying to figure out if he actually wants to date me or not.”

“That would be difficult,” Minseok mutters, eating some pepper himself and winking at Jongdae behind Kyungsoo’s back. Jongdae waits until Kyungsoo turns around to face Minseok, then flips him off. Minseok bursts into laughter, and Kyungsoo narrows his eyes.

“What just happened?”

Jongdae shakes his head. “Minseok made a face, don’t worry about it,” he says, and they get to work cooking.

After washing the dishes post-dinner, Jongdae retreats back into his room. Minseok had been staring at Kyungsoo’s ass something fierce, and he doesn’t want to be in the area when Minseok acts on his thoughts. Jongdae isn’t envious. Not even a little.

\--

He shows up about fifteen minutes early, and somehow, Junmyeon is already there, typing furiously on his phone outside the door. Jongdae has to tap his shoulder to get him to look up.

“Oh!” Junmyeon says, “You’re early.”

Jongdae smiles. “So are you.”

“Yeah, well,” Junmyeon mutters, “There was no point in staying in my office, so I left.”

Jongdae lifts his eyebrows. “You could have had dinner with me.”

Junmyeon sighs. “I did eat, if that’s what you’re wondering. I had leftovers from lunch, because I went out with my professor. I ate in my office while working, though. There were a few students who wanted me to look over their papers.”

“I mean it’s fine, I’m not mad,” Jongdae says. He really isn’t. “And honestly it was probably better you didn’t eat at my place. Kyungsoo and Minseok were getting frisky. I don’t think they expected me to be home.”

Junmyeon let out a quick bark of laughter. “Well isn’t that nice. They couldn’t wait until you left?”

Jongdae snorted. “Apparently not. I just kept my headphones in and the music up. Should we go inside?” The doors to the bar were open, and people were starting to go in.

“Yeah, I want to get good seats,” Junmyeon said, so they paid their entrance fee and entered. Jongdae had never been to this place before, and it wasn’t very big, but he liked the atmosphere. The bar and stage were in separate rooms, so they each got a drink before heading over to sit down. Junmyeon pointed to the third row of chairs. “Would this be okay with you?” he asked.

Jongdae shrugged. “Fine by me. You’re the one with experience here,” he said, and sat down next to Junmyeon. “What happens at these, anyway?”

“I guess you’ll find out,” Junmyeon said with a smile. “I mean, it’s nothing particularly complicated. People write poems, then get up on stage and recite them. Both are an art separately, but when you put them together, well. It’s fantastic, and there are some really good poets in the area.”

“Alright, sounds good,” Jongdae says, and the lights dim. As the first poet is announced, he looks over at Junmyeon. The other man’s eyes are lit up, reflecting the multicolored light on the stage, and it makes him look more youthful than normal.

Over the next couple of hours Jongdae becomes devoted to slam poetry. He’s never really been one for writing, but he thinks that now he could appreciate it. The way the poets pour themselves out on the stage is beautiful, moving, and Jongdae can’t help but be touched. It might have to do with the way Junmyeon clutches onto his arm whenever the emotion in the room rises, but Jongdae thinks he’s more than a little bit in love.

The bubbly feeling stays with him on his walk home, even though he still can’t tell whether it was a date or not.

\--

It’s been about a week since poetry slam, and Jongdae hasn’t heard from Junmyeon in a couple days. Okay, earlier on in the year, maybe in September when they barely knew each other, that would have been weird, but it’s nearly November now, and Jongdae and Junmyeon text every day. And Jongdae knows Junmyeon’s schedule hasn’t gotten particularly busy, because he has a copy of it.

So that’s why he decides to actually call Junmyeon instead of texting him for once. It rings about four times before Junmyeon finally picks up.

“Hello?” comes a croaky voice over the line.

“Junmyeon!” Jongdae says, a little bit too happy. “It’s Jongdae.”

There’s a pause. “Oh, right, sorry, I haven’t replied to your texts.” Some muffled coughing hits Jongdae’s ears. “I’ve been a little indisposed.”

Jongdae frowns. “Are you sick?”

“Um. Yes, I am definitely sick. I think it’s just a really bad cold, though, no need for concern. I have a lot to do, by the way, so I can’t talk for long,” Junmyeon says, along with another cough.

Motherfucker. The last thing he needs is to be working when he’s sick, Jongdae thinks. If he keeps up at his normal pace he’ll never get better, and then he’ll end up in the hospital, and Jongdae really doesn’t want that. “I’m coming to your place,” Jongdae says firmly. Maybe if he goes, Junmyeon will actually listen to him.

“No, you don’t need to do that! I have to go out in a few hours for a tutoring session, anyway, so--”

Jongdae cuts him off. “Cancel that, and give him some other tutor’s email address. You need to get better, and I’m coming over.” He hangs up so Junmyeon doesn’t have any time to protest, grabs his stuff, and marches into the kitchen.

Kyungsoo is leaning against the counter, looking at something on his phone while Baekhyun hangs off his arm and looks over his shoulder. They both look up as Jongdae enters.

“What got into your boxers?” Baekhyun asks, lifting his eyebrows.

Jongdae runs a hand through his hair. “Junmyeon overworked himself, and now he’s sick. And he wants to keep working, so I’m going to go over to his house with a face mask to protect myself and sit on him so he can’t move.”

Baekhyun laughs. “I think a condom might work better for that,” he says.

Kyungsoo smacks him. “The masks are still in the closet, and I have a container of soup leftover that you can heat up for him in the freezer. It’s near the back, you might have to dig.”

Jongdae ignores Baekhyun and thanks Kyungsoo. “I’ll do that, thank you.”

“No problem. Just do the dishes when you get home tonight,” Kyungsoo says, and continues scrolling. Jongdae has no idea what they’re looking at, but he doesn’t really want to ask. He finds the container of soup, grabs a mask, and waves goodbye to the pair of them on his way out.

Junmyeon’s apartment isn’t too far away from their complex, but Jongdae still takes a bus. He doesn’t want Junmyeon to escape while he’s on his way over. He can feel his phone buzzing in his pocket, but he’s holding the soup in one hand and hanging onto a strap with the other, so he doesn’t answer.

Jongdae shows up at Junmyeon’s door only twenty minutes after ending the call. He knocks briefly; Junmyeon doesn’t have a doorbell.

The door opens. “Jongdae?” comes Junmyeon’s croaky voice. “I told you not to come, I have tutoring in an hour.”

Junmyeon looks awful, if Jongdae is going to be honest. He’s standing there in the doorway, bags under his eyes, his hair is a mess, and he’s in ratty pajamas. Definitely not in any state to be tutoring some undergrad.

“Hyung,” Jongdae sighs, “You can’t do that to yourself. Can I come in? I brought soup.”

Junmyeon looks down at the container in his hand. “Um. Yeah, I guess you can come in. It’s a little messy, I’m warning you.” He stands back, coughing a little, so Jongdae can enter his apartment.

Junmyeon doesn’t have any roommates, and his apartment is relatively small. Jongdae has only been over a few times; if they hang out, they mostly go to Jongdae’s place. But Junmyeon wasn’t lying about the mess, Jongdae realizes. There’s clothing and papers strewn across every available surface, and dishes are piled up in his sink. Jongdae sighs. He’s going to end up washing those, and the dishes at home, he knows it.

But in the meantime he has to convince Junmyeon to stay home. “Have you checked your temperature?” Jongdae asks, clearing a spot on Junmyeon’s table. Junmyeon himself is hovering in the doorway to his room.

“Yes, I have. I only have a little bit of a fever, nothing above a hundred,” he says, holding the back of his hand against his head to check. “Yeah, not too hot.”

Jongdae walks over and holds a palm against Junmyeon’s forehead himself. His skin is slightly sticky, but only a little warm. “That’s good, but you’re still not going out.”

“I need to, he’s expecting me to help him.”

Jongdae shakes his head. “If you go out now, you’re going to end up collapsing. It’s Thursday, rest up tonight so you’ll be strong enough for tomorrow, then take it easy over the weekend so you can get better.”

Junmyeon looks disturbed at the thought of taking it easy. “But I have so much scheduled to do this weekend. If I cancel, I won’t get anything done.”

Jongdae grabs onto Junmyeon’s trembling hands. “Look at yourself,” he says, a little bit frustrated, “You have the chills. You can’t go out like this. Remember how I said spending time taking care of yourself now is an investment for the future? If you get better now, you won’t spend all month on the verge of collapse, and you’ll be able to get more done.”

Junmyeon still looks hesitant. “But he really needs my help.”

“He’ll be fine, hyung. Please. Stay home? For yourself?” Jongdae pleads. He can’t force him, but he can try.

Junmyeon leans against the doorframe, and sags. “I still want to go, but I’ll stay, because you seem so adamant about it.” He sighs. “I know this isn’t good for myself, but I want to keep consistent with my obligations.”

Jongdae brushes the hair out of Junmyeon’s eyes. “It’s fine. I’m sure all of these people will understand, because anyone who’s human will get sick every now and then.”

Junmyeon laughs quietly. “Alright. Now, what do you want me to do, seeing as I’m stuck here?”

Jongdae pushes him towards his bedroom lightly. “I’m going to feed you Kyungsoo’s delicious soup, and then you’re going to sleep, and relax, and if you wake up we can watch a movie or something. And maybe you’ll feel better in a couple of days.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon says, climbing into his bed, Jongdae watching from the door, “Feed me, mom.”

Jongdae laughs. “I’m far from anyone’s mom.”

\--

Another week passes, and Junmyeon now has a clean bill of health, for which Jongdae is glad. He was right in hoping that a few actual days of rest would help him.

What surprises Jongdae is the text he receives Friday morning.

_Can I come over to yours tonight?_

There’s no explanation, and Jongdae isn’t sure what to think.

_sure, any reason why?_

He chews on his lip. It isn’t like Junmyeon to ask to come over.

_Not really, but I do want to talk to you._

Well. Jongdae doesn’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but there’s no point in saying he can’t come over, so he texts back.

_okay, cool! see you whenever you want to come, haha_

He puts his phone down, and leaned back. What is he to Junmyeon, anyway?

\--

Kyungsoo is over at the other apartment, so Jongdae takes the opportunity to put his feet on the coffee table. He debates ordering pizza, but decides it would be better to wait until Junmyeon arrives to see what he wants.

He pulls out his phone. Junmyeon hasn’t texted him since the morning, but he assumes that he’s still coming. Jongdae shrugs and pops on the TV.

Half an hour later, Jongdae hears a knock on the door, and turns of the TV. He springs up to answer it, and it’s Junmyeon, shuffling around to keep out the chill.

“Come in,” Jongdae says, stepping aside. Junmyeon gratefully enters, removing his shoes and putting them neatly on Kyungsoo’s rack (Jongdae would like to note that Kyungsoo definitely has his life together better than anyone he knows).

They take a seat on the couch, and Jongdae puts his feet back up on the table. Joonmyun quirks an eyebrow at him.

Jongdae shrugs. “Are you going to tell on me?”

“Well, no,” he chuckles, and leans back. “Right, so I wanted to talk to you.” Jongdae must have made some strange expressing, because Junmyeon sits up immediately. “It’s nothing bad, I promise,” he says hurriedly.

Jongdae relaxes. “Okay, then what?”

“Well. I cut back on things,” Junmyeon says.

“Things?”

“I’m only tutoring a couple individuals, instead of doing hours in the resource center, and other than that I’m just volunteering with our organization and working on the school paper. You were right,” Junmyeon admits, “I was doing too much. I might still sign up for a conference or go to a talk every now and then, but I really didn’t need to be on all those committees. My part was minimal, anyway.”

Jongdae blinks. “Wait, so you’re saying you’ll have more free time now?”

Junmyeon nods. “Yeah. I’m not doing so many things, so I’ll have more time to stay healthy and spend time with people I actually care about.” He shudders. “Some of the people in the recycling group smelled awful.”

Jongdae grins. “I’m happy for you, hyung,” he says, and he is. This will take a lot of worry off Junmyeon’s shoulders.

“I’m happy for me, too,” Junmyeon says, and leans his head back on the couch to stare at the ceiling. “I feel like the weight of the world has dropped off my shoulders already.”

“I bet,” Jongdae says idly. He frowns. Junmyeon could have told him this over text, so why...?

“Um. I also wanted to talk to you about something else,” Junmyeon says, straightening and turning on the couch to face Jongdae. 

Jongdae looks over at him. “Yeah?” Junmyeon’s face is awfully close to his. Jongdae bites down on one side of his lip, and Junmyeon’s eyes flit down. He’s had enough dancing around. “Are you going to kiss me or not?”

Junmyeon turns red, and backs away. “I didn’t—you!”

Jongdae sighs, and moves so he is facing Junmyeon. “Alright, since you won’t do it, I will.” He reaches up with one hand to cup Junmyeon’s jaw, and leans in. “Last chance to say no.”

“Yes,” says Junmyeon in a small voice. Jongdae smiles, and kisses him, parting his lips only slightly. Junmyeon takes a moment to kiss back, but when he does, Jongdae can tell that he’s been wanting it, too.

He pulls back and swipes a thumb over Junmyeon’s still-red cheeks. “What did you want to tell me?”

Junmyeon turns redder, if possible. “Um. I’m sorry I was too busy to consider your feelings? Also, can we date?”

Jongdae laughs and kisses Junmyeon again. When he pulls away, he says, “I forgive you. And do you think I’d be kissing you if I didn’t want that?”

Junmyeon looks away and grumbles. “I wanted to be sure.”

Jongdae rolls his eyes, and curls himself around him. “You’re ridiculous, but I like that about you.”

“Do you really?” Junmyeon mutters, stroking Jongdae’s back.

“Mm. I’ll try not to take up too much of your time,” Jongdae says, looking Junmyeon in the eyes.

“Really, I’d rather you do, actually.”

**Author's Note:**

> t h a n k s f o r r e a d i n g m 8 I hope you had a good time. Next part will be out in less than a month.
> 
> ps are you getting a lil thirsty? i wrote a part to satisfy your thirst be patient my f r e n d.


End file.
